In it's season opener and first-year as a member of the Big 12 conference, Arizona (1-0) handled business against UT Arlington (0-1) and played as a collective winning 73-54 over the Mavericks.

There weren't particularly any standout individual performances from the Wildcats and instead they were balanced and played well as a team.

Seven players scored eight or more points for the Cats attributing to the victory.

With no real deep game from either team in this contest as UA went 4 of 18 and UTA was 3-for-12 from the three-point range, the game came down to the mid-range and the paint in which the Wildcats won with 40 points in the paint against the Lady Mavs' 22.

Even though the Cats couldn't hit from deep, they dominated inside as Breya Cunningham and Isis Beh combined for 18 rebounds that led to extended possessions or additional going the other way.

Cunningham had a double-double as well scoring 10 points with her 10 rebounds as she was a big piece of the Wildcats' win.

In the first half, UA's offense took a bit to get going as most possessions saw the shot clock reaching zero and that hurt guard Jada Williams the most who struggled to land buckets going 2 of 15 and 0-for-5 from deep with many shots going up to avoid violation.

Though struggling with field goals, Williams was perfect from the free-throw line going 6 of 6, saving her day.

Still, head coach Adia Barnes adjusted and found another way to win with gritty efforts on offense and defense.

The stingy Wildcats defense held the Lady Mavs to 6 of 23 field goals in the first half and they really had a hard time at the free throw line going 65% at the line making 17 of 26 attempts.

Comparatively, Arizona really took advantage of it's opportunities at the line shooting 19-for-22 at the line.

While the Cats dominated for most of the game, former one-time Wildcat in 2021 Koi Love really showed out.

Usually it's Avery Brittingham who makes the plays for the Lady Mavs but Love really stepped up recording 20 points along with two 3-point shots leading UTA and five steals.

Another aspect that helped lead Arizona to victory was the impressive bench play and sheer showcase of it's depth having 30 points coming from that group compared to the Mavericks' eight from their unit.

Newcomer and South Carolina transfer Sahnya Jah had a solid first game as a Wildcat recording 10 points, three rebounds, along with two assists and steals.

Arizona now prepares for another home matchup on Nov. 7, when Tarleton St. (0-1), which lost to UTEP 52-49 in the Texan Rider's opening game. The game is set for a 6 p.m. (MST) tip-off on ESPN+.

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